Starter for internal-combustion engines



McKE E BARCLAY AND FREDERIC W. PARKHILL.

STARTER FOR INTERNAL comausnou ENGINES. APPLiCATlON FILED JAN. 23,1920- 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I N V EN TOR. 2M 6 74 ATTORNEY.

McKEE BARCLAY AND FREDERIC W. PARKHILL.

STARTER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FlLED JAN. 23. 1920.

1 96,497, Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTORS. 2% WP 1 ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

STARTER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

Application filed January 23, 1920. Serial No. 353,535.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that we, Molina BARCLAY and F nnnnnro W. PARKHILL. citizens of the United States. residing at Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starters for Internal-Combustion Engines. of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to mechanical starters for internal combustion engines and has for its object the production of a starter which shall be'simple in construction, composed of relatively few parts, eihcient in operation and easy to apply to either new or already existing engines.

It has for a further object the production of a starter which may be operated from the drivers seat of an automobile by means of a foot pedal.

Another object is the production of such a starter as will act upon the actuation of the foot pedal without any additional operations on the part of the driver.

With these and other objects in view as will more clearly hereinafter appear the invention comprises a mechanism for transforming the longitudinal motion of the foot pedal into a movement of parts at a right angle to the direction of the motion of the pedal and means for utilizing this transverse movement of parts to rotate the crank shaft of the engine. It will be readily understood that, while the drawings and tie scription indicate that the engine shaft will be rotated through a. portion of a revolution. the several elements may be so proportioned as'to cause rotation of the shaft to any desired extent and even to cause rotation through several complete revolutions.

The invention will be more readily described and understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an elevation of the foot pedal and mechanism adjacent thereto with a portion of the casing inclosing the mechanism removed;

Fig. 2 shows a vertical section through the casing and its contained mechanism along line 22 together with the cooperating parts of the device partly in plan and partly in section.

Fig. 3 shows a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

' The invention as indicated by the drawingscomprises a housing 1 which is pro" vided with means, not shown, to allow it to be bolted or otherwise secured to the frame of an automobile or to suitable framework attached to a stationary internal combustion engine. \Vithin the casing 1 there is a pinion 2 which is provided with bosses 2 on either side thereof, which bosses act as hearing members for the pinion in the sides of the casing. The casing is provided in its lower portion with a longitudinal guide 7 in which slides the rack 53 adapted to mesh with and actuate the pinion 2. The rack 3 is carried on the end of a bar 4 which extends a sufficient distance from the casing to allow for the application to the end thereof of a tread 5, the casing and bar -31. being suitably placed to allow the rack to be actuated by the foot'of the operator.

Extending transversely through the pinion 2 is the usual axial opening 8 but in the present instance this opening is provided with internal spiral lugs 9,'hereinafter referred to as threads.

Mounted within the axial opening 3 in the pinion 2 is a short shaft 11 provided with spiral grooves 10 corresponding to and adapted to cooperate with the threads 9. This shaft 11 is of such size that it will slide freely through the opening 8 but fits snugly therein so as not to allow undue play. The shaft 11 has attached to one end a flexible member 14. This flexible member may be one of several suitable forms and the invention contemplates the use of either a fiat steel band, a chain of the sprocket type, or any other suitable form and will hereinafter be referred to as a strap.

The strap 14 extends around and is attached at its farther end to a drum 16. This drum is loosely mounted on the shaft of the engine. In the drawing the drum 16 is shown as being mounted upon'an additional end piece 19 carried on the end of and keyed to the shaft 18 of the engine.

The drum 16 incloses'a collar 17 also loosely mounted on the engine shaft and these parts are retained in place longitudinally of the engine shaft by means of a suitable nut 20 or other means well within the skill of the average mechanic.

The collar 17 is provided with a radial bore 21 having mounted therein a bolt 22 which is made of suitable material such as chilled steel, and which is rounded at its ends. A suitable spring acting against a shoulder within the bore is used to prevent the contact of the inner end of this bolt with the shaft of the engine when the parts are in their inoperative position or at rest as indicated in Fig. 2.

It should be noted that the bore 21 is somewhat larger than the bolt 22. This construction is adopted so as to allow side play for the bolt in case of a back-fire. When the starter is operated and the crank shaft is rotated a small distance it sometimes happens that the engine will fire prematurely and kick back. In such cases the sudden jar will cause the bolt which is at such a time in contact with the rounded projection 24 to be thrown or to slip sidewise and accordingly slip past the projection 24 and not unduly shock the starter mechanism and the operator.

The drum 16 inclosing the collar 17 is provided on its inner periphery with a rounded projection 24 as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. This projection 24 is preferably oval-shaped insteadof spherical. Also in the inner periphery of the drum 16 there is provided a groove 25 which extends somewhat more than half way around the drum. This groove is provided to coact with a stop pin 26 provided on the periphery of the collar17.

Suitable springs will be provided for the 7 return ofthe several parts to their normal inoperative position. Such springs are in dicated at 6 on the rack bar and '30 upon the shaft 11. V

The drawing shows in addition to the parts already mentioned, that the shaft 11 is provided at the strap end with a rather large head-12 through which, parallel to the shaft, extend the guide rods '13 mounted upon the casing 1. These guide rods are supplied to prevent the rotation of the shaft 11 upon actuating of the pinion by means of the rack. In certain forms of construction these guide rods may be dispensed with. For instance, when the flexible element 14 consists of a rather heavy metal band the guide rods will not be necessary as the re sistance to torsion of the band will be sufficient to prevent the shaft rotating more than a verysmall amount.

Further while the drawing and descrip- 'tion show the clutch mounted upon an and piece 19 upon theshaft 18 of the engine, it

will be obvious that such end piece may be dispensed with and the drum 16 and collar 17 mounted directly upon the shaft. It will also be obvious that this clutch may be mounted upon the engine shaft not'only at the end or either end but may be mounted in any portion of the shaft which may be found convenient, for instance anyportion which is not utilized for something else.

In the operation of the one particular embodnnent of the invention. described and illustrated, the operator forces the bar 4 inwardly against thetension of the spring 6, which causes the rack 3 to rotate the pinion 2, thereby causing the threaded shaft 11 to slide through the spirally threaded opening 8 in the pinion 2. This movement of the shaft 11 causes the head 12, which prevents rotation of the shaft 11, to move along the guide rods 13 against the action of tl e spring 30. This movement of saidhead 12 gives a pulling action upon the flexible member 14 which is attached at its outer end to the drum 16 loosely mounted on the engine shaft, thereby giving the drum a rotative movement on the engine shaft.

As the drum 16 rotates, the bolt 22 is brought in contact with the projection 24, on the inner periphery of the drum, which contact forces the bolt 22 inwardly against the tension of its spring and jams the inner end of said bolt against the engine shaft and thereby firmly clutches the drum to the shaft and effects a turnover of the shaft to start the engine. The pin 26, embedded in the.

collar 17 traveling in the groove 25, ahead of the bolt 22, when stopped by the ending of the groove, .dislodges the bolt 22 and breaks the contact between the drum 16 and the engine shaft. The stoppage of the pin 26 also serves to prevent the continued rotation of the collar 17, which is loosely attached to the engine shaft. Whenthe bar 4 is relieved of pressure, the parts return to normal positions as'should now be well understood. V

Having now described the invention and the preferred form in which it may be con structed it is to be understood that the in vention is not limited to the exact form and details givenbut only'to the scope of the appended claims. i 1 We claim: I V r 1. A mechanical starter for internal combustion engines comprising a collar loosely mounted upon the engine shaft, a drum inclolsing said collar, clutch means carried bythe collar and drum for gripping the shaft, a strap around and attached at one end to the periphery of the drum and having the other end attached to the end of a spirally grooved member which is adapted to move longitudinally througha corresponding internally threaded pinion, and a rack for rotating the gear, substantially as described.

2. A mechanical starter for internal combustion engines comprising a foot pedal provided with a rack, a pinion cooperating with the rack, the pinion being provided with an internally threaded axial opening, a correspondingly threaded shaft mounted in said opening and'having attached toone of its ends one end of a strap which surrounds and is attached at its other end to the drum of an automatic clutch mounted upon the shaft of the engine, and means for preventing the rotation of the threaded shaft when said pinion is rotated.

3. The combination with an internal combustion engine of an automatic clutch mounted upon the shaft thereof, a strap surrounding and attached at one end to the incasing drum of the clutch, means attached to the other end of the strap for rotating the shaft of the engine, said means comprising a threaded shaft adapted to be moved longitudinally, an internally threaded pinion surrounding and cooperating with the threaded shaft, a rack for rotating the pinion, the rack and pinion being substantially inclosed within a housing fixed at a suitable distance from the engine shaft, and means for preventing the rotation of the threaded shaft, whereby it is caused to move longitudinally when the pinion is rotated.

at. A mechanical starter for internal combustion engines comprising a foot pedal provided with a rack, a pinion cooperating with the rack, the pinion bein provided with an internally threaded axia opening, a closely threaded shaft mounted in said opening, an automatic clutch mechanism having operative connection with the engine shaft, and a strap connection between the threaded shaft and the clutch mechanism.

5. A mechanical starter for internal combustion engines comprising a foot pedal provided with a rack, a pinion cooperating with the rack, the pinion being provided with an internally threaded axial opening, a closely threaded shaft mounted in said opening, an automatic clutch mechanism having operative connection with the engine shaft, a strap connection between the threaded shaft and the clutch mechanism, and means for preventing rotation of the threaded shaft when said pinion is rotated.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

MoKEE BAR-CLAY. FREDERIC W. PARKHILL. 

